Been meaning to try this for months... and it works!
Basically a tactical way to capture wood walled towns with minimal troops against larger (larger the better) defending forces, IMMEDIATELY
Minimum requirement: 2 phalanx units. One ballista, 1 peltast/light infantry.
On the battle screen, first start firing the ballista at some wood palisade, ignore the gates. As this is happening, bring the two phalanxes up either side of the wall area being hit. They need to be in non phalanx mode. Line them up facing each other, with one side of each formation close up to the palisade, each unit about twice as long as their depth. Bring up the light infantry off to one side of either phalanx and out of the way of the ballista fire.
Wait until the ballista has broken down the palisade. Bring the light infantry up to the gap between the phalanxes, and let them hurl missiles at any defending forces in the vicinity inside the walls. Let the infantry move just inside the wall, this should spur on an attack by the defenders, usually but not always one unit at a time. Get the infantry out of there fast, but not so fast as to lose the attacking unit. Immediately the attackers get outside the wall, put the phalanxes on phalanx mode,[not attack, just let them stand there] zoom in and watch the slaughter!! If the phalanxes are placed just right so their sarissas almost touch, no enemy will survive this corridor of Death! The infantry should be halted just beyond the phalanxes, not firing cos they need to be used again and again as bait. Once the defending unit has been wiped out, routed, and decimated, de-phalanx mode the phalanxes, carefully move them back to their original facing each other position, and keep repeating these manoeuvres.
The ballista should be brought up facing the hole previously made, just adjacent to the phalanxes (not between them) where it can fire freely into the town. Its best to choose the original penetrating hole in the palisade opposite a town road to get the best depth penetration shots.
This works best against cavalry defenders, well it looks best watching them die! And it is not vulnerable to archers or missile fire because the units are generally all too close to the pallisade to be fired upon. Once no more defenders leave the plaza you can enter the town and use the phalanxes to wipe out the devastated units remaining. Normally there should be no complete units left.
I like to use this tactic to get new towns obviously, but also the high slaughter levels gets chevroned phalanxes with virtually no losses. Its handy too if you want to raid a faction, take and destroy its town, move out, let them pay for repairing it, then take it again several moves later.
Pax Romana.. Pax Britannia.. Pax Americana..INTERREGNUM RHOOPSIUM
Basically a tactical way to capture wood walled towns with minimal troops against larger (larger the better) defending forces, IMMEDIATELY
Minimum requirement: 2 phalanx units. One ballista, 1 peltast/light infantry.
On the battle screen, first start firing the ballista at some wood palisade, ignore the gates. As this is happening, bring the two phalanxes up either side of the wall area being hit. They need to be in non phalanx mode. Line them up facing each other, with one side of each formation close up to the palisade, each unit about twice as long as their depth. Bring up the light infantry off to one side of either phalanx and out of the way of the ballista fire.
Wait until the ballista has broken down the palisade. Bring the light infantry up to the gap between the phalanxes, and let them hurl missiles at any defending forces in the vicinity inside the walls. Let the infantry move just inside the wall, this should spur on an attack by the defenders, usually but not always one unit at a time. Get the infantry out of there fast, but not so fast as to lose the attacking unit. Immediately the attackers get outside the wall, put the phalanxes on phalanx mode,
The ballista should be brought up facing the hole previously made, just adjacent to the phalanxes (not between them) where it can fire freely into the town. Its best to choose the original penetrating hole in the palisade opposite a town road to get the best depth penetration shots.
This works best against cavalry defenders, well it looks best watching them die! And it is not vulnerable to archers or missile fire because the units are generally all too close to the pallisade to be fired upon. Once no more defenders leave the plaza you can enter the town and use the phalanxes to wipe out the devastated units remaining. Normally there should be no complete units left.
I like to use this tactic to get new towns obviously, but also the high slaughter levels gets chevroned phalanxes with virtually no losses. Its handy too if you want to raid a faction, take and destroy its town, move out, let them pay for repairing it, then take it again several moves later.
Pax Romana.. Pax Britannia.. Pax Americana..INTERREGNUM RHOOPSIUM